Coach came to us broody. She sits in her nest (above), has to be booted out so that she'll come out and eat/drink, and she's a little snippy. Hens are broody when they're trying to hatch an egg and some breeds (like Coach's) are more likely to go broody. Their body temperature rises and they fluff up their feathers to keep up the heat. They also stop laying eggs. This goes on for about 2 months unless you break the broodiness.
So we moved Coach into this wire cage two days ago. She's on her third day today and we'll let her out this afternoon. The wire cage prevents her from nestling in comfortably--instead she stands or roosts, and the air flow around her keeps her body temperature cooler. The environment gets her back up on the roost where she should be sleeping, as well. I think she's pissed.
At first we had the cage in the yard next to the coop, but she made such a racket, we moved her into the garage. It may be legal in Providence to have chickens, but I'd rather not make the neighbors mad only 2 months after moving in.
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